The roads, rails and airports are expected to be especially busy this week as tens of millions make their way to family for Thanksgiving.

More than 54.3 million people will travel 50 miles or more this Thanksgiving, a nearly 5 percent increase over last year, according to AAA.

The five-day Thanksgiving holiday begins on Wednesday and ends Sunday.

The largest travel spike will come at the nation’s airports, with 4.27 million — a 5.4 percent increase over last year — traveling by air during the Thanksgiving holidays. It’s predicted to be the largest total since 2007.

But most Thanksgiving travelers — about 48.5 million — will be on the nation’s roads.

The holiday weekend could see some 2.5 million more people traveling by road, rail, air and sea than last year, which would make it the highest total since 2005.

“Higher wages, more disposable income and rising levels of household wealth are fueling a busy holiday travel week,” said Robert Sinclair, the Northeast spokesman for AAA, a not-for-profit that specializes in roadside assistance, travel and insurance.

Beating the traffic

To avoid the holiday traffic nightmare, Patrizia DiLucchio planned to head out early to visit her son in California. The 66-year-old Hyde Park resident said she planned to have a driver take her to New York City on Sunday. The trip included a stay overnight in a hotel and flying out of John F. Kennedy International Airport the next morning. That way, she said, she can avoid congested roadways in the two days preceding the holiday.

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Patrizia DiLucchio looks for her car in the parking lot of the Poughkeepsie Plaza on Saturday afternoon. She said she plans on flying to California to see her son for Thanksgiving but will be leaving early enough to avoid traffic.(Photo11: Jack Howland/Poughkeepsie Journal)

“Flying is really stressful anyway,” she said. “So anything I can do — if I have to fly — to relieve my stress, I’m going to do it... If I am driving for five hours before I get to the airport, I’ll be a mess when I get there.”

Tuesday and Wednesday will the worst days for travel, according to the AAA, especially during the afternoon and evening hours. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, which AAA calls the end of the holiday travel period, is also expected to be a bad traffic day as most holiday travelers head home.

The highest Thanksgiving gas prices in four years aren’t expected to deter Americans from hitting the road, and that includes in New York, according to the report.

The AAA report relies on information from INRIX, an analytics company that uses historical data to estimate how many people will travel and which parts of the country will be “hot spots” for traffic. Multiple roadways closer to New York City have been designated as national hot spots, and the drive to LaGuardia Airport is the second-worst in the nation.

A passenger plane(Photo11: spooh, Getty Images)

Sinclair said New Yorkers across the state should allow triple the normal travel time if they’re hitting the highways on the Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Driving on Thanksgiving day is a preferable option, he said.

“That might be normal as of late; ‘normal’ has been pretty bad,” Sinclair said. “You can easily budget double to triple to maybe three-and-a-half times your normal travel time... particularly if you’re going to be travelling during those rush hours.”

Holiday traffic predictions

There could be snow on Wednesday evening, according to the National Weather Service in Albany. The early forecast was for rain after 2 p.m. and then mixing with snow showers after 5 p.m. Less than a tenth of an inch of snow is expected Wednesday.

“It could be a little bit messy at times,” said Kevin Litpon, a meteorologist with the weather service.

Like weather forecasting, Sinclair said the predictions that INRIX produces can be very accurate, even if it’s “a bit creepy” how they obtain the information. The company, he said, uses infotainment systems people have agreed to have in their vehicles that record travel information.

The high traffic is despite the fact that gas prices have been the highest they’ve been in four years, with a national average of $2.74 as of Nov. 8, more than 21 cents per gallon higher than it was a year ago, according to the report. In New York City, gas is 25 cents higher than it was a year ago.

Vehicle breakdowns are predicted to be a big problem this year, Sinclair said, with the AAA expecting 360,000 vehicles along the sides of roads during the Thanksgiving travel period.

There are three main reasons AAA gets calls for broken-down vehicles, he said — flat tires, dead batteries and problems with the car like a burst belt. He said cold temperatures make a breakdown more likely, which is a bad position to be in.

“It’s more than an inconvenience; it’s dangerous,” he said. “It’s being by the side of a major highway with traffic going by at 60 to 70 mph.”

On the rails

But beware if you get decide to leave later. Some evening trains could be canceled or combined with others since ridership will be less than usual.

On Thanksgiving, the railroad will operate on a Saturday schedule but will run additional inbound trains to help folks get to Macy’s Holiday Thanksgiving Parade in midtown.

If you’re leaving from Grand Central or Harlem-125th Street Station, you’ll need to have your ticket before getting on the train.

On Black Friday, the railroad will again be on a Saturday schedule but, to accommodate passengers headed out in search of deals, there will be extra inbound trains in the morning and more outbound in the afternoon.

The weekend will see regular weekend service with additional Shopper’s Special trains.

Off-peak fares will be in effect from Thursday through Sunday.

Come fly with me

Air travel also is expected to busier than usual.

According to the Transportation Security Administration, a record breaking number of flyers are expected this upcoming Thanksgiving holiday travel period with more than 25 million passengers traveling through security screening checkpoints nationwide Nov. 16 through Nov. 26,

Like overall travel, it's an increase of 5 percent from 2017.

TSA officials said they are "prepared to process the volume of passengers at airport security checkpoints," deploying new technology, an additional 80 passenger screening canine teams and more than 1,200 TSA officers.

“As Thanksgiving and the holiday travel seasons arrive, ensuring the safety and security of the millions of passengers traveling daily remains TSA’s top priority,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske in a press release. “We marked several records over the spring and summer travel periods this year, screening more than 525 million passengers and crew. This upcoming season will be very busy as more passengers choose to fly, and TSA officers will be on duty over the holidays so travelers can enjoy theirs.”

The busiest travel days leading up to Thanksgiving will be the Friday and Wednesday before the holiday, with 2.6 million passengers and crew expected on each of those days. On Nov. 25, more than 2.7 million travelers are expected to be flying home. On a typical weekday, TSA screens about 2.1 million passengers.

Hosting the family Thanksgiving

Engaged couple Roy Tinsley, 58, and Emanda Ashe, 48, plan to welcome Ashe’s two children, three grandchildren and more than a dozen other family members at their City of Poughkeepsie home on Thursday.

That’s how they prefer it, they said.

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Roy Tinsley (right) and Emanda Ashe (left), who are engaged, smile for a moment as they walk through the Poughkeepsie Plaza on Saturday afternoon. They plan on staying home for Thanksgiving and said they're happy to avoid possible traffic.(Photo11: Jack Howland/Poughkeepsie Journal)

They were already experiencing traffic on Saturday along South Road as they shopped for food such as stuffing, cranberry sauce and sweet potato pie.

Roger Whitney, 52, and his wife, Bonnie Whitney, 59, of Clintondale, said they’ve had bad Thanksgiving travel experiences before and plan on having a quiet holiday at home.

“I’d rather stay inside and not be in a line of traffic,” Bonnie Whitney said.

Meliza Lopez, 24, of Kingston, said this might be the first time she’s driving somewhere for Thanksgiving. She plans to leave from Pine Bush — where she works as a home health aide — after she finishes her shift on the morning of Thanksgiving to avoid any traffic.

She hasn’t done any research on possible traffic, she said, but she’s hoping she’s leaving early enough to avoid congestion on the roads.

“I get out at 8 a.m. (from work),” she said, “so I think I’ll have enough time.”